Matt Pitt's supporters have started a "Free Pitt" movement. (Photo by Mark Almond/malmond@al.com)

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Supporters of jailed Youth Evangelist Matt Pitt have launched a campaign to "Free Pitt," with an online petition drive, "Free Pitt" T-shirts and a web site devoted to portraying him as a victim of persecution.

The Free Pitt logo

Pitt, 30, founder of The Basement youth service, is currently being held without bond in the Shelby County Jail, after being arrested Aug. 20 on a charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer.

A hearing to see if Pitt should have his probation revoked in Shelby County has been scheduled for Oct. 15.

Pitt was first arrested on a charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer on May 12, 2012, for flashing blue lights on a vehicle as he drove on Interstate 65 headed to Destin, Fla. Pitt pleaded guilty on Sept. 26, 2012, and apologized to Calera police in court. He received a suspended sentence and was placed on probation.

Pitt was accused of identifying himself as a police officer again in June. Someone called Jefferson County deputies reporting people riding ATVs and leaving a rifle at the edge of woods near a neighborhood. When Pitt retrieved the rifle, he identified himself as a law enforcement officer, according to the report. A warrant was issued for his arrest on a charge of impersonating a police officer. Jefferson County deputies later illegally searched Pitt’s car and house, according to Pitt's security director, Vince Lovell.

In a video defending Pitt, Lovell said Pitt was told when he received an honorary badge from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department that he could show it if he was ever pulled over by police. “Was he told that if he was ever pulled over, to hold the badge out the window, that it would help him, and present the badge if he was pulled over for speeding? Absolutely,” Lovell said. “Are there many of us that witnessed to that conversation when he was told to do that? Absolutely. Did he do that the first night that he was pulled over in Calera? I wasn’t sitting in the car, but I’d say absolutely not.”

On Aug. 20, with a warrant out for his arrest, Pitt went to conduct interviews at TV stations on Red Mountain. When Birmingham police tried to arrest him, Pitt fled and jumped off a 45-foot embankment before being apprehended, according to authorities.

Matt Pitt was arrested on Aug. 20, 2013 on a charge of impersonating a law enforcement officer.

Pitt's supporters say he was the victim of illegal searches of his car and home, and have posted videos on the "Free Pitt" web site, which they say is evidence that he has been persecuted.

Gospel singer Canton Jones, who has frequently performed at The Basement worship services, sang on Tuesday night at a "Free Pitt" concert at the B-Studio, The Basement's office and meeting place in Trussville. Supporters are posting messages on Twitter with a hashtag, #FreePitt.

Pitt founded The Basement in the basement of his Roebuck home in 2004, and it grew so fast it moved into a series of large churches that hosted the services. It became one of the largest youth services in the country, routinely drawing 5,000 to 7,000 youth at the services that emphasized upbeat music and Pitt's frenetic, fast-paced preaching.

At the height of his ministry, Pitt was sharing the stage with Evangelist Franklin Graham, and appearing on national television. In 2009, Pitt debuted a reality show, ‘’The Basement 360,’’ on INSP, The Inspiration Network.